By Sarah Osman

Considering its hard-to-fault premise, Peacock’s The ‘Burbs should be a lot more fun than it is.

A scene from The ‘Burbs featuring Keke Palmer. Photo: Peacock

I’m a sucker for campy, comedic mysteries set in suburbia. I devour Desperate Housewives and Only Murders in the Building. What I love about the genre is its sheer absurdity. Everyone on board — writers, performers, etc. — knows it is a lampoon, and that’s why it works so well. The key to a great suburban mystery is its incisive silliness — without that, there’s no bite.

Peacock’s newest comedy/horror/whodunit series, The ‘Burbs, is missing that much-needed kick. Based on the 1989 film of the same name, The ‘Burbs is a contemporary take on what has become a cult classic. In this updated version, Samira (Keke Palmer) and her husband, Rob (Jack Whitehall), move from the city to Rob’s childhood home to provide a safer life for their baby. Samira is immediately spooked by the creepy Victorian mansion across the street. She soon learns from the neighbors that the house is where a teenage girl disappeared 20 years ago (or was she… murdered?). When a new ‘burbite (Justin Kirk) moves into the dilapidated house, Samira, along with her neighbors — Dana (Paula Pell), Lynn (Julia Duffy), and Tod (Mark Proksch) — decide to solve the mystery once and for all.

Considering its hard-to-fault premise, The ‘Burbs should be a lot more fun than it is. I have not seen the original The ‘Burbs, but it doesn’t seem as if the series resonates strongly with its predecessor, which was directed by horrormeister Joe Dante. Regardless of what it owes to the past, the latest ‘Burbs moves at a glacial pace. It’s difficult to get invested in figuring out clues when so few of them are doled out at a time. Every episode introduces a new question: why is the new neighbor starting a bonfire at night? But that puzzlement is forgotten once a new mystery comes along. The shower of mini-enigmas slows the dramatic pace to the point that suspense is hard to come by. In that sense, the slow-mo of The ‘Burbs makes for ideal “white noise” viewing. It’s the perfect series to put on while you vacuum the floors or put the dishes away. Don’t worry if you miss a threatening conundrum — another will be on its way soon.

Given its gifted cast of comedic actors, The ‘Burbs should be funnier than it is. Pell, Palmer, and Proksch have all been scene stealers in other shows and movies — here they fall flat. Part of the problem is that they are all one-dimensional characters: Pell is the resident lesbian, Proksch is the resident weirdo, and Palmer is their determined-to-clear-all-this-up leader. They’re not given many punchlines to work with, and the jokes, when they come along, are so awkwardly written that even these masters of farce can’t make them funny.

But what is most desperately missing in The ‘Burbs is camp. This is a series set in “the safest place in America,” a neighborhood that could be the twin to the one in Desperate Housewives — it’s ripe for goofiness. On top of that, if the series were meant to be sort of serious, there is no attempt to examine what life must be like for Samira, the only Black resident surrounded by rich white people. That social reality appears to be of no interest: instead, the characters sit on the porch, drink wine, and gossip about the new neighbor. If I wanted to see that, I’d just attend the next homeowners’ association meeting.

Satirical mysteries set in suburbia aren’t new. Once the genre was a bit edgy, but now it has gone mainstream. If you’re going to make one today, it had better be innovative or at least different. The minimum would be to offer more of the same wacky shenanigans we’ve come to love in those that came before. This is Peacock’s second attempt at this type of series — last year’s Grosse Pointe Garden Society was not renewed for a second season. Let’s hope that when the streaming service goes back to the drawing board, the third time will be the charm.

Sarah Mina Osman is based in Los Angeles. In addition to The Arts Fuse, her writing can be found in The Huffington Post, Success Magazine, Matador Network, HelloGiggles, Business Insider, and WatchMojo. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is working on her first novel. She has a deep appreciation for sloths and tacos. You can keep up with her on Instagram @SarahMinaOsman and at Bluesky @sarahminaosman.bsky.social.